Think Teamwork, Not Self-Promotion
A friend emailed me asking if I would pass along information about a product just coming out. The email was a sale pitch I could pick up and pass on. The rest of the message was over the top for me — kind of pushy and kind of “wink, wink, nudge, nudge — you help me and I’ll help you later.”
I didn’t find that compelling. What I found was a way to say, “I’m sorry, not this one.”
It takes time to build a network. No one wants to abuse theirs, but wasn’t investment partly for support when we need it? What’s the right way to enlist the support of the people we call our colleagues?
I asked a few friends . . . they led me to these steps.
In his blog post, War Paint and Promotion, Todd Jordan offers these words of wisdom . . .
Itââ¬â¢s partially about having something great to say, but itââ¬â¢s equally about sharing your story and making them a part of it.
Keep them as you read through these.
0. Seed the garden. As Dave Navarro said, ” . . . Spend time either a) getting *their* name out or b) helping them move forward on their site goals … well before you need promo.” via Twitter.
1. Offer something worth sharing. Sure I love you, but if your product is bad or boring. I’m going to find it hard to pass it on to the other friends in my network. < 2. Show confidence and courtesy. If you get nervous, self-conscious, or overly humorous, It makes it seem like your products can’t stand on its own.
3. Let me opt in! Tell me about what you have in a way that leaves me lots of room to choose for myself. If you hang your promotion on our relationship, you might find that our relationship wasn’t strong enough to carry it.
4. Make it easy to talk about you — have a simple message. You can offer me the way to say what your point is, but don’t give me a speech.
5. Give me a way to feel proud. I’m going to be sharing your message with other folks I care about.
And Don’t forget . . .
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Liz,
Helping others is #1 on your list and I think it is critical to this whole social media thing. I believe in it completely. If we aren’t trying to help others we really aren’t doing ourselves any good. That’s what all business is really about.
I’m coming to the realization that I’ve stumbled into this whole situation backwards. While I’m not clueless about marketing, I entered this corner of the social media/blogosphere for only social reasons. (BTW, hiya, Tojosan!) I’m enjoying pulling for people for its own sake. When I get a project that will REALLY NEED wide attention (as opposed to my blog), asking for help might feel weird. All the marketers say that I’m laying groundwork for a support community already. Good!
I have lived in communities where you cannot get into any organization or group unless you know someone else. I now live in a newly formed community where my skill set and enthusiasm opens all sorts of doors. I like the blogging and social media world because you don’t have to operate in Good Ol’ Boy ways, you don’t have to kowtow to the powers that be, and you don’t have to fit into a box. At the same time, being a jerk won’t get you far either. Courtesy, respect, and genuineness still matter. How cool is that?
Hi Steve!
Yeah. If we’re not “other-centered,” then we’re skewed. After all it’s a social world not a “self-serving universe.” 🙂
Hi Rick!
When it comes time for you to get help on something important, all you’ll have to do is let us know that it’s important to you. You’ve already invested in us. That makes it only natural to want to invest back. 🙂
Yeah, Sage,
Being able to stand authentically is one of the greatest appeals of the social media community. It sure takes a weight off. 🙂
Trying to “use” your social media contacts is just plain rude. Especially if you have “known” them all of a week, a day, a month. That would be like meeting someone at a party and asking them to borrow a few bucks??
The key to a give and take relationship is balance. And the other keyword here is “relationship”. Kind of like there is a difference between friend and acquaintance.
Hi BloggerNewbie!
Yeah, I like to draw a line where I might not recognize someone if I met him or her at meeting. 🙂
Liz,
Great, useful information here. I just had a phone call this morning with someone who said her industry is in need of this information. I’m passing the link along to her for her to digest and then send to others.
Best,
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl!
Thanks for letting us know where folks are the curve. 🙂
I also appreciate you introducing your friend to the information here. Maybe we’ll have a mutual friend soon. 🙂
I like point #3: “let me opt in.”
Not that the others aren’t important. But as you stated, it relieves the pressure of “having” to commit to something. Nobody likes being “sold” to…nobody likes feeling pressure to “have to do” anything. Given the option to “opt in” I’d say yes more often than not.
Whoo-hoo! I was step zero! 🙂
Glad my advice was some help …
One of the best networking tools I’ve ever used is after I meet someone, I find out what they are working on and see if there’s any way that I (or my contacts) could add value to their project.
That creates HUGE goodwill, and usually results in an unsolicited “What can I* do to help you?”
Givers get.
(PS – Liz, how can I add value to what you’re working on at the moment? email/twitter me 🙂
Hi Liz – these are really good tips. Hi hate getting the type of message you received. It’s so pushy and the types who send those kind of messages rarely do anything for others – they’re always thinking about what’s in it for them.
I agree, Ricardo.
Folks like to feel generous. Pushing them to help takes that generous feeling away from us.
Hi Dave!
Wish I could offer you a way to add value to what I’m working on, hmmmm. Thanks for asking. I’ll think of something. 🙂
Hi Cath!
Some people don’t know any better and don’t realize how they sound. Most folks who do that, however, know exactly how hard they’re pushing. I don’t react well to being told what to think or who to help. As far as I know neither do most of the friends I admire. 🙂